We seem to be averaging one patient per episode in Private Practice at the moment. However, our patient this week is unusual in that he is not there to bring out the doctors’ underlying issues. Rick is soldier who has recently returned from Afghanistan, where he was raped by his sergeant. After he attempts suicide, Sheldon spends most of the episode counselling him until he is ready to tell his partner, but when he does she reacts in the worst way possible, asking why he didn’t do anything to stop it. With Sam’s help , she comes back to support him, but the case is a reminder to us that rape is rape, regardless of whether it happens to a man or a woman. Well done, Private Practice, for making this episode about more than just the doctors.

The car crash

Actually, there are two more patients in this episode, but they’re Mason and Erica. After having a seizure at the wheel, Erica has landed the pair of them in hospital. Mason is terrified, Cooper is furious, and once again Charlotte finds herself playing peacemaker. She really has changed a lot this season, but I like the softer side to her. Anyway, she has a lot of peacemaking to do this episode as Amelia has some bad news: before Erica dies she could lose her sight and speech and become paralysed. (It’s at times like these that I have to suspend my disbelief; could they really not see this coming?) Cooper is upset and angry, but with Charlotte’s help he manages to convince Erica to fight. Cue miracle cure?

The break-up issues

At least we have a reason for the doctors seeing so few patients today; Addison and Jake are at a medical conference. Addison is in the wallowing stage of her break-up with Sam, eating everything she can get her hands on, and later drinking the hotel bar dry. Jake tries to snap her out of it, flattering her ego by calling her “the Meryl Streep of maternal-fetal medicine,” which she takes as an invitation, turning up at his door for sex. He rejects her, and a hilarious scene ensues in which she rolls around drunkenly on his bed asking why he doesn’t want to sleep with her. One of Jake’s heartfelt and perfectly-worded speeches (this guy is nothing if not a smooth talker) about her not being over Sam yet is met with the response: “But is it also just a little bit because you saw my vagina in a medical way?”

“Did I ask you for sex and then cry?” She asks the next morning upon waking up in his bed. But her antics the previous night aren’t up for discussion, and Jake is being the perfect gentlemen. He’s even ordered her a bacon cheeseburger and rescheduled her presentation. Seriously, the man is so perfect it’s almost annoying!

The hypocrisy

There are more Violet/Pete issues this episode, Pete not being especially happy to have walked in on Violet kissing Scott. I’m sure I used to like Pete, but I can’t remember why, because all he seems to have done this season is be a jerk. While Scott is being supportive (and sensible, suggesting that Violet might actually want to move out of the house where she’s suffered trauma after trauma), Pete wants to yell about Violet finding a new squeeze. Uh, excuse me? Do the words elevator sex mean anything to you? Still, perhaps we should be grateful to Pete for making a scene, as it meant that we got to see Scott shirtless. And that, in my opinion, can never be a bad thing.

There was also a surprise twist at the end of the episode as, while Addison tells her therapist that she “likes to know what’s coming”, we see Sam picking up her sister from the county jail. Shit is about to go down!